SUSPECT: Indonesian Agriculture Ministry officials take a blood sample from an Australian pelican Tuesday at Gembira Loka Zoo in Indonesia. PURWOWIYOTO, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JAKARTA, INDONESIA - The government imposed "extraordinary" measures Tuesday to keep a bird flu outbreak that has killed four people in Indonesia from spreading, including the forced hospitalization of people who exhibit symptoms of the disease.

In addition to the fatalities, six patients suspected of having the H5N1 strain of bird flu have been admitted to Jakarta's infectious diseases hospital, officials said, two of them zoo employees. Blood samples from the patients have been sent to Hong Kong for testing.

Health Minister Siti Fadila said the government was "very concerned" about the spread of bird flu and had assigned 44 state-owned hospitals to treat avian influenza patients, who will receive free medication.

Those with symptoms of the disease could be admitted by force, she said, adding that the "extraordinary" status would last 21 days but could be renewed if necessary.

Meanwhile, zoos across the country were taking measures to protect their animals from the virus. Some zoos tested birds for the virus while others sprayed disinfectant in bird cages and stopped accepting any new animals.

"With such measures, we believe the park is safe," said Asep Firmansyah, a spokesman for Taman Safari Indonesia just outside Jakarta. "However, we will welcome health officials testing the birds at this park."

The virus has swept through poultry populations in large swaths of Asia since 2003, killing 63 people and resulting in the deaths of tens of millions of birds.

A 28-year-old guide and a 39-year-old vendor at a popular zoo in the Indonesian capital were hospitalized Tuesday with symptoms of bird flu, said I Nyoman Kandun, director general of Communicable Disease Control.

Earlier, 19 eagles, peacocks and other birds tested positive for the virus at the zoo, which will be closed for three weeks, during which time all staff and birds are to be tested.

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